Sunday, October 14, 2007

Preparing for Madrid: ECIS 2007 Conference

I will be attending the ECIS Annual Conference for 2007 (European Council of International Schools) to be held in Madrid, Spain 21-25 November. This is a large event attended by 100's (if not 1,000s) of educators from around Europe and beyond. It is a key event on the calendar of international schools globally.

While at the conference I will be part of a team of 6 international educators based in Europe (and the Middle East) presenting and collaborating on Web 2.0. Currently we are discussing the logistics of this session with possible bandwidth problems and lack of access to adequate facilities. I have to keep reminding myself that the ECIS conference is not just for educational technology and that our role will be to raise awareness of new tools and curriculum integration examples. However, I think we are going to miss the wonderful tech facilities provided by NECC each year. I have almost got used to presenting without having to cache a backup in case of Internet failure. This session has been advertised as:

WEB 2.0 COCKTAIL
"This session will present the participant with the opportunity to sample a menu of Web 2.0 tools
and applications, including blogs, wiki, podcasts, RSS, and other resources. Format will provide
participants with time for guided, hands-on exploration of these tools, alongside practical
demonstrations of integration within the curriculum".


I will also be presenting and sharing concepts to do with the Flat Classroom project. My session title and description for this is:

Flatten Your Classroom and Embrace 21st Century Global Learning
"The award winning Flat Classroom Project (ISTE SIGTel Online Learning Award 2007) showed that global collaboration using Web 2.0 tools can easily 'flatten' the walls of the classroom and promote better understanding between all participants. This session will look at the concept and practice of a flat classroom in the 21st century and suggest strategies for inclusion in your classroom and school".

So today, as one of the tasks on my list to get through during my EID holiday I am trying to make a start on this presentation. I am also trying to get a 'handout' together to submit for the conference proceedings. To be honest I am finding this problematic. Shall I abandon PowerPoint? (My PPT skills are low to non-existent as it is!) Or shall I work on dynamic slides with vibrant images? There are some excellent examples on slideshare.net. After a 5 minute browse I found these two:

Mobile Phones: Constructive not Destructive by Sharon Tonner




Shifted Learning by Dean Shareski




I really like the imagery of Dean's work. Even though I have not seen the human side of the presentation the images and essential text on the slides already speak to me. With Sharon's work I also like the techniques she uses to convey the message about mobile technology and she has also added audio (see embedded file above) to the slideshow! So it stands up on its own.

Should this be my aim, to create a multimedia artefact that is transferable and able to be comprehended even if I am not there to speak to it?

Then there is the classic 'Shift Happens', viewed around the world more than 280, 000 times. According to the slideshare blurb:
This is a stylization of a slideshow originally created by Karl Fisch, examining globalization and America’s future in the 21st century. It is designed to stand alone, without having to be presented in person. Enjoy!




So, my scattered thoughts so far re putting together my presentation include:
use interesting and dynamic imagery, use key terms and concepts in big letters, startle, surprise, challenge, evoke, use colour and contrast, enthrall, intimidate, encourage, convey, share, intersperse with moving media, invite back-channel participants via google presentations, include Web 2.0 dynamic content, do not 'present' but share and ask for audience responses.....
I will share my finished presentation in a few weeks....wish me luck!

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2 comments:

Mrs Tonner-Saunders said...

Hi Julie, it is nice to see my slidecast on your page. Why did i do it? The reason was after a presentation the organisers wanted to place evidence of the seminar on the web to share with others. This is fine but if I were to place the PowerPoint I use as it stood then it would not have the same impact. If I were to record myself whilst at the seminar where there was audience participation the 'on-line' viewer would not truely be involved and it might become static. Hence the reason I removed some slides then did the audio whilst looking at the slides. I think this worked better as it gives the viewer my thoughts rather than the static text and images which I come across with many on-line presentations.

There is another tool, voice thread, which would work well too where you can annotate slides with voice, text or pencil. This is what I used to create this month's tutorial in Voices Of the World. Hope this helps. Sharon

Julie Lindsay said...

Thanks Sharon for stopping by my blog and for sharing your reasons for adding the audio to the slideshow. I just remembered who you are! The wonderful Voices of the World project! Yes, I am trying to get a class to be part of your project...we are on EID break this week so are now further behind. Really enjoy the Ning you have set up and seeing the work on the wiki from around the world. Thank you!